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Why the Reflecting Pool Is Full of Algae After Trump's Renovation
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Why the Reflecting Pool Is Full of Algae After Trump's Renovation

Wired · Jun 16, 2026, 6:14 PM · Also reported by 3 other sources

Key takeaways

  • Hot temperatures and climate change are among the risk factors that could be driving the outbreak.
  • The Trump administration spent more than $14 million to update the pool ahead of celebrations across the US capital.
  • Algae began forming less than a day after the updated pool was unveiled last week.

Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.

Photograph: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story On Wednesday morning, workers poured hydrogen peroxide into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC.

The treatment is the latest attempt by the Interior Department to control an algae bloom that has turned the pool bright green, despite President Donald Trump's costly renovation to make it “American flag blue” in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary. Hot temperatures and climate change are among the risk factors that could be driving the outbreak.

The Trump administration spent more than $14 million to update the pool ahead of celebrations across the US capital. The work was done under a no-bid contract by a company that has never worked for the federal government. (It has, however, worked on President Donald Trump’s golf courses, according to The New York Times.)

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